Friday, May 28, 2010

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

I was out of town for work so I took a walk after dinner and ran into 4 men in their 20's from Colorado. I gave them a tract and brought up the things of God. Two of them pretty much left right away but two stayed. Neither knew what it took to get to heaven yet they claimed they knew God and one said he went to church. I took them through the law. One kid continued to justify his sin, even though he admitted he broken God's commandments. He said he only trusts in his own feelings not in man or the Bible. I told him the Proverb that said, "He who trusts in his heart is a fool" I explained the only way out through Jesus and why the cross was necessary. I mostly did for the other guy who was more humble and listening. They said they have heard it before but they clearly have never understood it because they thought being a good person could get you to heaven. We talked for 20 minutes. The one guy continued to try to take me down 1000 rabbit trails and wouldn't listen to reason. I ended by telling them my motivations for sharing the gospel with them and that it was the truth and they had a choice to reject it or think about it before they died and had to face God. Overall it was a good discussion. Seeds planted.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

How wives should treat their unbelieving husbands(or husbands that act like unbelievers, or husbands in general, we all have problems)

Prologue: The purpose of a marriage is not to satisfy yourself or fulfill your selfish desires or to gain control, the purpose of a marriage is to model the Gospel in your relationship to your husband and to model the relationship between Christ and the Church to unbelievers which is ultimately glorifying to God. The purpose of your marriage is to glorify God.

1. …a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife….1 Corinthians 7:13-14.

First of all, no matter how bad things are don’t even think about or say the word “divorce”. I know husbands who are not walking in Christ can make a marriage miserably but God is giving you an opportunity to learn how to love a wretched worm unconditionally. This is how God loves us, unconditionally. We deserve wrath for our sin against God but while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. You treat God worse than your husband treats you. Think about your sin.

Second, If you can model the gospel in your life then you will sanctify your husband. Your husband will be blessed because of your faithfulness. He will receive some of the outward benefits of your salvation. If it pleases God, He will use your conduct to convict your husband and your husband will see his sin far better than when you point it our. Let God convict him and then he will change.

2. And why to you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Matthew 7:3-5

It is so important for all of us to look at ourselves and all our sin and many problems before we look at others. Sometimes what you don’t like about you husband is what you really don’t like about yourself. The sin you hate in yourself is just more manifested in you husband. Look at yourself first and then you will be able to go to your husband with love and understanding.

3. Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. 1 Peter 3:1-2

Be submissive to your husbands. This does not mean that you should agree with your husband on everything or let him drag you into sin. It means encourage your husband to take his role as head of the household (not throw it in his face when he fails) and then follow his lead. If there is a big decision to make and it is not a sin either way, support your husband even if you have to sacrifice. This is part of what the Bible calls “dying to yourself”. It is a perfect model of being Christ like. Your husband will see this eventually and again be convicted and see Christ in you.

Your conduct should be so Christ-like that your husband will look at you and say, if this is what it is to be a Christian then I am definitely not one. Your example of conduct should be opposite of your old life. You should handle problems in an opposite way he is expecting. If your husband does something really stupid and he expects you to react the way you always do by screaming at him, then give him grace and mercy and you will shock him. He will actually be more convicted by his mistake and will be far less likely to do it again.

4. Rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror. 1 Peter 3:4-6

Make an effort to be not only submissive, which honors God, but to have a quiet and gentle spirit. If you are always fired up and raising your voice or arguing it will certainly bring out the same behavior in him. If your husband is screaming and acting crazy and you face him with a quiet and gentle spirit, then you will bring him back to reality and calm him down. The more gentle you are the more conformed to gentleness your husband will be. This will also be reflected positively with raising your kids.

5. An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who causes shame is like rottenness in his bones. Proverbs 12:4

Support him, love him, be excited about the things he is excited about and live a life that does not cause him shame. He should love to talk about you. If he is talking with all his friend and he has a supportive, godly wife, he will always be sharing that with others. If you are always nagging every time he does anything, the sinful husband will not be bragging about you but complaining about you. This is his fault and he is fully responsible but it will be the result.

6. Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church, and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Ephesians 5:22-24

Model the Gospel in your marriage. The wife represents the church and her husband Christ. Respond to your husband how the church should respond to Christ. Focus on fulfilling your role, not how bad he is failing his role. This is how unconditional love is learned. If your husband was perfect then your love would be conditional on his actions toward you. The marriage is not about you or satisfying all your selfish desires, it is about Christ. Die to yourself and model the gospel. This is extremely hard and we will struggle with it until we die but we should definitely be getting better at it, by God’s grace, as we are sanctified.

7. …let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Men, unlike women, have a desperate need for respect. They have a lot of responsibility in their role as the head of the house. If you respect your husband, even when he doesn’t deserve it, you will make leaps of progress in your relationship. He has a lot of pressure on him and he sure doesn’t need to be nagged at every time he fails. Try encouraging him and pointing out the good job he is doing when he does good. This will go so far. Respect him as a person, respect the things he does for the family, respect his effort to earn a living (as long as it isn’t sinful).

8. …love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.

If you are mad your husband isn’t walking with Christ and is not fulfilling his biblical role you should again look at yourself. Concentrate on fulfilling your role and let God deal with your husband when he fails at fulfilling his role. Sometimes it is best to step back and let God take vengeance on your husband, so to speak. This can’t happen when you are always in his face. When you fail at your role, the name of God is blasphemed because you are sinning and disobedient. You are actually doing the same thing as your husband. Stay the course, finish the race, fulfill your unique role in the marriage. If you are being persecuted because of your faith then Philippians 4:13 is a promise for you, it says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. God will give you the grace and strength to endure your marriage. Pray continually. God is the only One that can change you husband but be encouraged because we have a God that we can go to in prayer and a God that does change husbands.

9. Some words of encouragement and final exhortation:

But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. 2 Timothy 2:23-26

Like everything in life, your marriage is a huge spiritual battle. Put on the full armor of God, depend entirely on God, die to yourself daily for God, so that God will be glorified in you.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Most of the time while witnessing we don't see immediate fruit, praise God for that since it would probably cause pride. Usually we see conviction, rejection, hatred, or the deer in the headlight look. We almost never see what happens to the people when they leave. We almost never see how the planted seed is watered but this time God found it pleasing to reveal a little bit of what He is doing in one kid. I received this email from a friend. The evangelist was Mike Peters.

Had a customer here tonight. Her son has a lot of friends over. They are SDA. Anyway, a boy that is on the fringe of friends because of the group he hangs with came over. He is kinda rough looking with big earrings, baggy shorts, etc. He came over to their house Saturday night and apologized for being late. He had been stopped by some 'Jesus People' on the street. Mother questioned him. He had been told quite a bit in a short time by some street evangelists here in Helena. He was very excited about it. He didn't know about Jesus before. He told her that he had already done 5 of the '10 sins' such as look at a girl wrongly...not just literal adultery. He was very excited about the encounter and the Mother carefully continued the conversation with him, made sure he knew several of the friends in the house knew Jesus as well (was a little bothered the kids were in stealth mode). She sent him home that night with a Refuel magazine which is an NCV Bible in magazine format. He read a lot of it and on Monday asked if he could go to church with them. He is very eager and doesn't know much yet, but the evangelist's seed is being watered right now.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

While proclaiming the gospel in Great Falls we found evidence that the "Fall" was "Great". A depraved and wicked generation that hates the God that allows them to breath. I met Jeremy R. and we started at Paris Gibson Park. The park is surrounded by low income houses so it attracts many people. I don't want to go into detail on every encounter because it would take too long, so here is a summary.We talked to some very lost, God hating, confused kids at the skate park first. They all had filthy mouths and bad attitudes. I went through the law and they were not concerned. Some thought they were actually Christians as they blasphemed Christ, while some blamed God for everything bad in there life. I explained the gospel and they openly mocked it. We moved on.

We talked to a couple Mormon girls and a Pentecostal man who said he couldn't be Mormon because he was black. They were all very lost and confused. I took them through the law and explained the gospel but they justified their sin and one of the Mormon girl got mad because I told her the Mormons were lying to her. After I explained to them that their only hope was Christ, the Mormon explained to me why she loved the book of Mormon. She loved it because they didn't have to hope in Christ. That is when I told her the Mormons lied to her and urged her to seek truth. They mocked some more and we left.

Talked to a drunk homeless man who had a Bible and used Proverbs 31 to justify his alcoholism. He professed Christ but justified all his sins. We didn't spend to long with this guy because he liked to argue and had been drinking plenty.

Stopped a couple in their early 20's on the street with a card trick. They thought you had to be good and be strong to get to heaven. I asked them if they were good and strong and they said they were so I took the through the law and they saw they were not. I explained how God has to punish sin because he is just and then explained how God punished Jesus on the cross in their place to satisfy His justice. There was not to much conviction but they listened the whole time. The girl admitted she was going to Hell but was ready to leave because she was hungry. Not to worried about Hell apparently.

Talked to a couple guys at the tattoo parlor, the owner and his buddy. We small talked about tattoos and then I asked them what they thought happened when they died. They didn't know, although one guy said he was saved. It seems like we ran into a lot of people who thought they were saved even though they have always lived and still live wicked, depraved lives, but they said a prayer at sometime in their lives and some pathetic pastor or evangelist proclaimed them as saved. The fruit of the modern "gospel". When I started talking about the things of God they both immediately left in the middle of the conversation.

We seen a crazy lady at the Taco store. She was out of her mind. I thought she may have been into demonic stuff so I gave her a tract and said it was about Jesus. She acted crazy but not how I expected.

I stopped a couple on the street with a tract. They read it and we got into a very good conversation. I thought the girl had an Irish accent but she was from South Africa. I thought the guy was from Australia but he was from Ohio. I am so bad at recognizing peoples accents. The girl knew the answer to the question about what it takes to get to heaven. The guy didn't and said he was a creationist evolutionist. Basically he believed that God used evolution to make the world and everything in it. I stuck to the law and gospel and then talked about creation. I explained some things he never heard and he was surprised that some of the things he believed were shot down. He said he would research things. The cool thing is that his wife and he were debating about the gospel yesterday and God put us together to answer some of his questions.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Amazingly a similar test as below was given to regular Protestant church attenders and the average was an F. See if you have some knowledge of the Bible. This simple tests proves the Biblical Illiteracy of the "church" today.

1) Name the four Gospels ___________, ____________, ___________, __________2) Who delivered the Sermon on the mount__________________3) What book is the verse “In the beginning God created the heavens and earth” in_________________

4) Who said, “Am I my brother’s keeper? ______________5) What quote is from the Sermon on the mount:a) Repent or perishb) Even though He slay me I will trust Himc) Blessed are the poor in Spirit

6) Where did Saul/Paul have his blinding vision?a) Athensb) The road to Damascusc) Samaria

7) Which book begins with, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and God was the word._____________

8) Which book in the Bible do we first read about the Passover?9) Put the following events in order:a) Israelites enter the promised landb) Judah goes to exilec) David made kingd) Israel divided into two kingdoms

10) Put the following events in order:a) Pentecostb) Peter denies Jesusc) Jesus was baptizedd) John has a vision on the isle of Patmos

Visitors

Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. 2 Corinthians 5:11

This blog was made to share our experiences while sharing the gospel on the steet and to encourage others to "GO" into all the world and preach the gospel. We don't want any glory for ourselves because we are very weak and can do nothing without Christ. So all the glory goes to God because He is worthy of all glory and worship. We are but grass that will wither away. We hold to what George Whitefield said, "Let me die, and let my name die with me." To God be the glory.

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These are our latest experiences while sharing the gopsel on the streets. Praise God because He is at work always. "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds." 2 Corinthians 10:4 Praise God for raising up men to hit the streets and boldly proclaim the gospel to every creature. I believe God is beginning to raise up people to proclaim His word boldly. It seems with all the false prophets and watered down churches of today that Christianity in America is dead. But God has raised up a remnant that is bold in the faith, sound in doctrine, and that hunger and thirst for righteousness. With the rapid increase in heresy spreading throughout the visible church we also see this remnant of theologian street preachers who are boldly counteracting everything that the "world" loves about the new seeker friendly church. This remnant is seen in the increasing number of open-air preachers and street evangelists throughout the US. They are preaching a biblical gospel that exalts Jesus Christ and explains Justification. Praise our Sovereign God for this increasing remnant.